Tape closer for slider fasteners



Jan. 7, 1958 M. summzmmmu TAPE CLOSER FOR SLIDER FASTENERS Filed April26, 1954 A INVENTOR. Mom's $INDEBMAN W Wq'W Jzforne a TAPE CLOSER FERSLHDER FASTENERS Monte Sinderman, Los Angeles, Calif.

Application April 26, 1954, Serial No. 425,350

2 Claims. (Cl. 24205.11)

specified size, or for other similar use. Due to the inherentconstruction of the slide fastener, it is impossible to secure togetherthe extreme end portions of the tapes on which the teeth racks areformed with the result that the tapes tend to separate or gap and form asmall opening at this point. Such a gap or bulge is quite unsightly, andto securely fasten the garment together at this point it is conventionalto hand sew a hook and eye or equivalent fastening means to the body ofthe garment directly above the free ends of the slide fastener. Thispractice is almost universal in garment construction and can be observedin any type of womens apparel.

Both from a standpoint of appearance and production, the hand sewing ofa hook and eye to the garment is unsatisfactory. it is very difiicult toproperly place the hook and eye in exact registration, and the timeinvolved is such as to materially increase the cost of the garment. Inany event the resulting appearance is makeshift, and is particularly badon bathing suits and the like where the hook and eye is left fullyexposed.

It will be appreciated also that in the construction of a slide fastenerit is necessary to provide means for preventing the slide of the slidefastener from being accidentally pulled off one or both of the teethracks. Conventionally, such means take the form of stop elements whichare larger than the rack teeth and positioned adjacent the end teeth soas to limit the travel of the slide.

These stop elements are attached to the slide fastener during itsconstruction which is'of course a completely separate operation from theproduction of the garments, the completed slide fastener being merelysewn into the garment by stitching the tapes of the slide fastener tothe cloth of the garment.

With the foregoing in mind, it is the major object of this invention toeliminate the necessity for hand sewing of a hook and eye to the garmentby modifying the stop elements on the tooth racks of the slide fastener.Viewed in another aspect, the invention provides a combination stop andlock element which functions to limit the travel of slide and fastensthe tapes together to prevent any gap or opening therebetween.

An equally important object of the invention is the provision of alocking element of the character described which is installed directlyto the tapes of the slide fastener during its construction and is sodesigned that it does not interfere with the installation of the slidefastener on the garment.

Another object of the invention is to provide a locking 2,8l8,625Patented Jan. 7, 1958 element which improves the appearance of thegarment by holding the tapes together in proper alignment, andeliminates an unsightly hook and eye attached directly to the body ofthe garment.

It is still a further object of the invention to provide a lockingelement formed for direct attachment to the beading of the slidefastener, and which is adapted to be installed by automatic machinery ofthe type presently used to attach the stop elements of the teeth racks.

An "additional object of the invention is the provision of a stop andlock element which is simple and inexpensive to manufacture.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentfrom the following detailed description of a preferred form thereof, andfrom an inspection of the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of the stop and lock element of the presentinvention in combination with a slide fastener which is shown in itsposition with respect to a garment, only a portion of which is visible,the stop and lock mechanism being in its unlocked position and the slidefastener being in a partially open position;

Figure 2 is a view similar to Figure 1 showing the slide fastener in itsclosed position and the stop and lock element in its interlockingposition;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken in the line 3-3 of Figure 2,slightly enlarged; and

Figure 4 is a top front view of the stop-and-lock element showing theelement in its unlocked position and portions of the slide fastener indotted lines, slightly enlarged.

Referring to the drawings, the number 10 designates a slide fastener ofany suitable or well-known construction positioned for drawing togetherthe opening flaps of a garment 11, the garment 11, for example, being aWomans skirt or similar garment, and the slide fastener being effectivefor drawing together the waist band of the skirt or similar garment tothe specified size. The slide fastener comprises in the present instancethe customary teeth racks 12 and 13 which are forced into interlockingrelationship by a slide 14, a suitable pull tab 15 being swingablyconnected to the slide for facilitating movement thereof in opening andclosing directions. The teeth racks 12 and 13 are each formed of aplurality of teeth 16 which are positioned in gripping relationship to abead 17, the bead 17 including a center cord 18 enclosed by suitablecloth material 19 of a tape 20.

It will be appreciated that in the type of slide fastener abovedescribed it is impossible to interlock the end portions of tapes 20with the slide 14. Consequently even when the slide 14 has been moved tothe fully closed position, the tapes 2i) tend to separate or gap apartat the upper end of the slide fastener. To avoid such an opening, it hasheretofore been the practice to hand sew a hook and eye to the body ofthe garment above the ends of tapes 20. Thus, in a makeshift manner ithas been possible to prevent the opening of tapes 20.

It Will also be understood that with the slide fastener as describedabove, it would be very easy to run the slide 14 off the teeth racks 12and 13 when closing the fastener and prevent the slide from again beingopened. This has heretofore been avoided by attaching stop elementsadjacent the end teeth of the racks 12 and 13.

In this invention a combination stop and lock element designated broadlyby the number 21 is provided for preventing the slide from beingaccidentally pulled off or beyond the limits of the teeth racks and forfastening the upper ends of the tapes together in side to siderelationship. The element 21 consists of interlocking engaging memberscomprising an eye member 22 and a hook member 23, the eye member beingpreferably formed of suitable sheet metal and bent U-shaped so as toprovide a center portion 24 and end portions 25. The end portions 25 areeach bifurcated in shape and receive therein a bead 17 of one of theteeth racks 112 and 13. The eye member 22 is locked orfastened to thebeadby forcing the opposite sides .of the bifurcated end portions 25toge'ther sufi'iciently to firmly grip the bead. It .Will be noted thatthe eye member 22 .is fastenedto the bead in the same manner .as theindividualteeth 16 ofthe teeth rack and can be secured to .the tapes 2t)during thevconstruction of the slide fastener. The eye member ispreferably fastened adjacent the last tooth 16 of teeth rack 12 andcenter portion .24 is spaced from the bead sufficiently to receive :hookmember 23 in locking relationship as will be more fully appreciatedhereinafter.

The hook member 23 is also formed of suit-able sheet metal and comprisesa substantially flat center portion 26, which can be decorative indesign if so desired, and having projecting therefrom prongs 27 and anarcuate hook 28. The hook member 23 is fastened to the bead of teethrack 13 opposite eye member 22 by inserting the prongs 27 through thetape 20 adjacent the bead and bending the prongs backwardly and inwardlywith respect to center portion 26around the bead. It will beappreciated, however, that bifurcated members similar to the bifurcatedend members 25 of eye member 22 can be provided for fastenin the hookmember to the bead. The hook 28 is bent backwardly with respectto centerportion 25 and slightly inwardly adjacent its end and is formed of asize for permitting the same to be readily received between the centerportion 24 of eye member 22 and its adjacent bead.

As previously suggested, the eye member 22 and the hook member 23 arelocated adjacent the upper tooth of each of the racks and are so spacedtherefrom as to act as stops for limiting the upward travel of the slide14. It will be appreciated also that the stop and lock element 21 withhook member 23 being received by eye member 22. holds the end portionsof tapes 2t closely together in side-by-side relationship to prevent anyseparation at that point. The element 21 is also decorative and pleasingin appearance and does not detract from the appearance of the garment,as does the normal hook and eye sewn to the body of the garment.

it should be particularly noted that element 21 is secured directly tothe beads 17 of tapes '20. Thus, the tapes 20 may be sewn to the clothof the garment along a line extending closely adjacent the beads 17without any interference from element 21. Even more important is thefact that once tapes 20 are so attached to the garment, the installationof the slide fastener is complete and no further hand sewing operationsare required.

While I have thus shown and described in some detail a preferredembodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that changes ofdesign and construction may be made Without departing from theprinciples of the invention. Therefore, I do not Wish to be restrictedto the foregoing except as defined in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a slide fastener having opposed teeth racks and a slide receivedby said teeth racks for moving the racks into interlocking relationship,each of said teeth racks having a flexible bead portion and a pluralityof teeth fastened to said bead portion in spaced relationship, theimprovement of a combination stop and lock mechanism for locking saidteeth racks together adjacent the free ends thereof which comprises: ahook member fastened in gripping relationship to the flexible bead ofone of said teeth racks adjacent the last tooth thereof, said hookmember having a hook portion formed thereon, and a U-shapedeye memberpositioned opposite said hook them-- her having end portions and acentral interconnecting portion, said end portions of said eye memberbeing fastened in gripping relationship to the other of said flexiblebeads and positioned opposite said hook member, said eye member formingwith the other of said flexible beads an expandable opening for readilyreceiving said hook portion of said hook member whereby to hold saidflexible beads in locking side-to-side relationship, each of said hookand eye members being positioned in the path of movement of said slidefor preventing movement of said slide in a closing direction beyond thelast tooth of each of said tooth racks.

2. In a slide fastener having opposed teeth racks and a slide receivedby said teeth racks for moving the racks into interlocking relationship,each of said teeth racks having a flexible head portion and a pluralityof teeth fastened to said bead portion in spaced relationship, theimprovement of a combination stop and lock mechanism for locking saidteeth racks together adjacent the free ends thereof which comprises: ametal hook member fastened in gripping relationship to the flexible beadof one of said teeth racks adjacent the last tooth thereof, said hookmember having a hook portion formed thereon, and a metal U-shaped eyemember positioned opposite said hook member having bifurcated endportions and a central substantially flat interconnecting portion, saidend portions of said eye member being fastened in gripping relationshipto the other of said flexible beads and positioned opposite said hookmember, said eye member forming with the other of said flexible beads anexpandable substantially rectangular opening for readily receiving saidhook portion of said hook member whereby to hold said flexible beads inlocking side-to-side relationship, each of said hook and eye membersbeing positioned in the path of movement of said slide for preventingmovement of said slide in a closing direction beyond the last tooth ofeach of said tooth racks.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,794,139 Blair Feb. 24, 1931 1,813,433 Sundback July 7, 1931 2,224,930Roseman Dec. 17, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS 533,578 Great Britain of 1941

